Postal ALC 1 - Rattrays XI 2 - AFC Trophy - 22/1/2022 - Webster Park

TEAM - 1. R.Laing 2. A.Riddell 3. S.Carter 4. B.Nicolson 5. B.Patterson 6. M.Hunter 7. S.Robertson 8. R.Law 9. R.Insch 10. M.Maciver 11. S.Ure 12. G.Davidson 14. B.Campbell 15. S.Cotovici 16. K.Dowbekin

OPPOSITION MOTM – N/A

Postal welcomed Premier League Rattrays XI to Webster Park in this AFC Trophy 1st round tie. Rattrays were fresh off the back of successive wins against Cove and Kincorth so a difficult tie was on the cards.

Postal made one change to the line up from the weekend before. Frampton pulled out due to injury so Insch replaced him through the middle, Ure moved over to the left and Maciver came in on the right.

The first 30 minutes of the match was a fairly even affair and no real clear cut chances noted for either side. Rattrays probably had more corners than the home side, with Postal sitting a little deeper than usual, but it wasn’t obvious who the Premier league side were.

Just when it looked like Postal would go in at half time all square, they conceded on 44 minutes. They had 3 chances to clear their lines in the box and on the edge of the box but sclaffed them all. When the ball eventually got sent into the path of the Rattrays forward, Laing ran out to challenge but the striker coolly lifted it over his head to score. 0-1.

HALF TIME – POSTAL ALC - 0 – RATTRAYS XI - 1

Postal started the second half well and were dominating the opening ten minutes of the half.

A long throw in from the Postal left was met by Patterson on ten minutes and his headed flick on was headed home by Robertson. Well-deserved equaliser. 1-1.

The rest of the half was much like the first. Both sides battling hard for the ball, Postal well organised in defence and midfield without creating very many chances.

On 30 minutes the first controversial decision from the referee. Robertson was sent through on goal. Admittedly, he was about 30 yards from goal, so it may not have been a clear and obvious goal scoring opportunity at amateur level, but when a defender wraps both arms round your torso and drags you to the ground when you’re bearing down on goal it’s not out of the question to demand a sending off. Unfortunately for Postal the Rattrays number 2 was only shown a yellow.

Numerous corners and setpieces from Postal at this point as they threw on their attacking subs to get a winner.

Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and controversial moment number 2 from the referee saw Postal concede what would turn out to be the winner for Rattrays. A 50/50 tackle on the Postal right hand side about 20 yards from goal saw the referee give the away side a free kick for what seemed like nothing.

The resultant free kick was sent through the wall (which broke up far too easily) and sent into the Laing’s bottom right corner.

Postal went 3 at the back and sent bodies up the park in an attempt to get the equaliser.

With almost the last kick of the ball Postal sent a long ball into the Rattrays box from a setpiece. Carter managed to direct the ball to goal but Rattrays keeper Walker managed to save off the line.

The referee called time on the game soon after with the Premier League team’s sideline screaming for him to blow his whistle for full time.

Overall a very good display from the Postal squad today. A disciplined, committed, strong hard-working performance against a team two divisions higher. We never created as many chances or tested the keeper as much as we would like but Postal can walk away from the tie with their heads held high and Rattrays will surely know they were in a game today. Well done. All the best to Rattrays in the next round.